West Ham United have defeated Norwich City 2-1 at home in the Premier League.

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The Hammers went ahead at Upton Park as early as the third minute from the penalty spot.

Ryan Bennett's challenge on Winston Reid inside the Norwich 18-yard box saw the referee award West Ham a penalty that Mark Noble successfully converted.

The visitors refused to back down and pressed on for an equaliser, with James Tomkins being forced to make a desperate clearance in the seventh minute.

Then in the 21st minute the Canaries were denied by the frame of the West Ham goal, as Robert Snodgrass rattled the crossbar with a free kick from 25 yards.

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However, it was West Ham who scored the second goal of the afternoon and it came in the 26th minute, Joey O'Brien latching onto Carlton Cole's pass to find the target from close range.

Cole himself could have added his name to the scoresheet seven minutes from the half-time interval had he not failed to keep his effort on target from just two yards after some good work by Noble and Guy Demel on the right.

Norwich were on the front foot in the opening minutes of the second half, but could have conceded the third goal of the afternoon had Ricardo Vaz Te's header from Matthew Taylor's cross not come off the post.

Russell Martin scored for the visitors in the final minute of normal time when he volleyed home Elliott Bennett's cross, but it eventually proved to be a mere consolation.